GSM reaches 60 million subscribers in U.S.

ATLANTA " The 3G Americas trade group reported at this week's CTIA Wireless 2004 showcase that 60 million subscribers are now using GSM technology in the Americas, equating to a 110-percent growth rate since February 2003.

Support for GSM at the carrier level is one of the big reasons for 3G's rapid growth in the Americas. According to the trade group, 60 new GSM operators launched operations in 2003. Additionally, 43 TDMA carriers and 6 CDMA operators switched to GSM over the past three years. "There are now 152 licensed operators in the Americas," Pearson said.

Edge technology that is contributing heavily to the GSM sector. According to Pearson, 36 U.S. carriers have committed to deploying Edge services over their GSM networks. An additional 35 carriers outside the U.S. have also said they will introduce Edge services.

An estimated 1 billion global users subscribe to GSM. According to analysts, the total is expected to grow to 2 billion by 2010.